For those who can buy a stock of survival foods, congratulations. For those who can’t get up the money we’ll list a few pointers that may or may not help. A variety of videos below shares with us some excellent 'prepping on a budget' tips and knowledge. First things first and that means getting right with God.
I made the best decision of my life many years ago and so am not worried about the near future because I know what the final destination is. But in the meantime we need to be prepared as much as possible for hard times ahead whether they are days of natural calamity, days of war, days of chaos. God wants us to live and to prosper and to help our neighbors. Do you remember the greatest commandment?
Yes, I know, Revelation says there will be 144,000 converted Jewish evangelists, but if you find yourself also in the great tribulation, I’ll bet they won’t complain if you talk to a few folks about Jesus.
Survival foods are fine if you can afford them but getting so practical that a large larder of ordinary canned goods, bought on sale at case lots for about half price, also makes a whole lot of sense. And, as I have noted before one of the cheapest and best kept food (in a sealed plastic bag) is ordinary oatmeal (watch for hungry mice). You can live on the stuff. To this writer, food fit for a king is a bowl of hot oatmeal with a little sweetener and milk.
Lacking milk and sweetener, it can still be eaten with hot water (or even cold) and if hungry enough I wouldn’t hesitate to eat it dry. It would be a lot better than an empty belly! Price? You can buy 100 servings for less than $10. I doubt if there is anything else that can deliver that much food value for a dime. Heck, you could share with your neighbors or even strangers that come to the door looking for something to eat. That’d be a lot better than shooting at them and you might even get a chance to sit down and share God’s word. Remember what Jesus said when a lawyer asked Him which was the greatest commandment in the law? He replied, Love God with all your heart, soul and mind and the second is, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. (Mt 19:37)”
Even more important than food is water. Make plans now, do it tomorrow morning and if you can’t do anything else, pipe your rain gutter water into a plastic barrel. If you consider it necessary, use a little camouflage like a little brush or a parked car to keep the neighbors or enviro inspectors from talking about your prep water. Don’t worry if a little trash or dirt gets into it, in time most of it settles to the bottom.
Wouldn’t it be nice to have about 50 gallons (or more) of fresh water on hand in case the city system goes down? An inexpensive water filtration system can be built by putting a faucet near the bottom in the side of an open topped barrel, putting a perforated guard over the faucet intake and then filling the barrel up about a third with clean sand. On top of that use fine gravel for another third and coarser gravel on top. Pour dirty water in at the top and get clean water out of the bottom.
If you can afford packaged survival foods then go for it, but a lot of American families today have a hard time scraping together enough to do even the periodic shopping necessary. However, a simple and almost painless plan is that whenever you do buy non-perishables or have a few extra dollars, then by all means get an extra can or two of veggies or meat and put them away for that rainy day, that rainy, cloudy day that’s maybe not yet coming down the street, but is obviously on the edge of town.
A garden plot however small, and about $30 worth of “survival seeds” (non-hybrid so you can save the seed and plant again) is a good investment. A “drip irrigation” system will save a ton of water (hook up to your barrel). You can find details on the web. For early spring and fall growing consider a porch or empty room that can be turned into a greenhouse (south side first, then west, last east). If glass isn’t available clear plastic is cheap. Buy some wood lath from the hardware store then roll it along the edges of the plastic 3 or 4 wraps to secure it to posts or the wall. Use double headed nails (for pulling) or screws so it can be taken down and replaced with new plastic when necessary, thus saving the lath to be used over again. UV inhibited plastic is a little more expensive but will last for probably 2-3 years.
Duct tape will patch holes in plastic. For insulation, install two layers of plastic and with a small blower pressurize between layers (dead air space). A tight plastic wall works well for food protection against low temps and also against wind. To extend your growing season even more, store extra water in plastic barrels (painted black for extra heat collection) where they are exposed to the sun. Water on the average, will soak up about 8 times the heat that solid rock will. The water barrels will soak up heat during the day and give it back off at night staving off a frost in your improvised greenhouse.
The news recently said Warren Buffet took a bunch of money out of gold and bought oil instead. When it comes to money Buffet is obviously smarter than most of us. Oil is finite but even if it lasts for many more years it’s bound to get more expensive. Some claim the reason more small oil companies haven’t gone broke with the current low prices is because they are using up their capital trying to stay in business hoping the price will go up and no money for new discoveries. What happens when they run out of capital? Better have some extra gas and oil on hand. Supplies may get short and expensive in a hurry.
How about an cheap gasoline generator that can be plugged into your house if the grid goes down? You can buy a 2 cycle for about $100 that will put out about 800-1000 watts. A few light bulbs would be mighty welcome if the power goes off. You can get at least get one circuit hot with an extension cord with a male plug on each end. If you do that, BE SURE to throw the main breaker in your box so you don’t electrocute a worker down line who’s trying to get your power back on! A long time ago I watched a Korean pumping a bicycle which was hooked to a car generator to provide electricity to a drill for a dentist. When the bicycle pumper got tired the drill slowed down and hung up in a tooth! Ow!
By the way almost any constant speed, gasoline engine can be easily converted to propane or natural gas for pennies. Just buy a $5-10 ball valve and plumb the propane right into the air-stream entering the carburetor. Stick a rubber or plastic hose into the air cleaner and synchronize your engine speed to gas pressure by using the ball valve. You will be amazed at how easy it is! All a carburetor does is convert liquid gasoline into a vapor. If nothing else just run a propane (or natural gas) line into the top of the carb and regulate it with a mechanical valve. A box of candles and a few extra lighters and matches are also a good investment. How about a couple of old fashion lanterns and a gallon of kerosene? Ask at the hardware store.
While we’re at it, always try to run your car off the top half of the gas tank. That extra 8 or 10 gallons of reserve fuel might save your life someday. And, when your tires get skinny try to replace them and don’t forget basic maintenance such as oil and filter changes. Also, I’ve noticed a lot of people don’t even check their engine or transmission oil and coolant. Some don’t even know they can. Learn how. It’s easy.
Don’t forget flashlights and batteries. Three or four good flashlights including batteries can be bought for less than $10. Scatter a few around so you can get them if needed.
We are besieged with information, sometimes to overload and many have given up and decided to ignore it all. Huge mistake! The Bible teaches plainly God wants us to be ever vigilant for trouble and to prepare against its eventuality. He’s talking here about knowledge of Him but general knowledge is inferred.
Ho 4:6 ¶ My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
Isa 5:13 Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.
But where do we get general knowledge? Researching and reading the alternative media is the best place to start but to keep your perspective, you have to keep up with the latest lies also. How do we do that? As distasteful as it is, hook up an aerial and watch a half hour of the msm evening news. They won’t even know you’re tuned in and it’s free.
Will we attack, or be attacked by Russia or Korea? The left loves to tip off their followers and the only practical way they have is by using their captive media. Sure, a lot of it makes you want to throw up, but once or twice a week will probably keep you up on their plans. A better and easier way is to check the internet for reliable sites like ANP. They too will make a few mistakes but they won’t deliberately lie to you.
I’ve saved the best for last. When God wrote the Bible through His prophets about a quarter of it was prophecy. The general outlines of prophecy are rather easy to understand. It only becomes intense if you buckle down trying to understand the fine points. First of all get right with God by confessing you are a sinner and ask forgiveness, then trust Jesus for everything. After salvation, I would point a beginner to Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21.
Then after you have read those a few times and Daniel 7 and 9 and got the general idea, promote yourself to Revelation. It’s not nearly as hard to understand as you’ve been told. Just read it in sequence as written and remember God WANTS us to understand it. Ask the Holy Spirit for help.
God wrote the Bible to be understood. He wrote prophecy because we need to know what is coming rather soon. Don’t try to read some deep, hidden meaning into everything. After asking in prayer for guidance by the Holy Spirit just take it as written (He has seen to it that the Word makes sense in every language). Don’t rush through (“Gotta read three chapters every day!”), take your time and think about each verse before going on and if you can only handle a few verses a day don’t fret! One verse, thought about and prayed over puts you way ahead of most people!
2Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
God has a plan for the last days whenever they come, and those who believe in and put their trust in Him, can rest in the palm of His hand. We can’t know the future outside of the revealed Word but we are not supposed to have a spirit of fear. Our job is to study Scripture, put aside fear and rest in the fact that He made us, and He will take care of His creation until the day we see Him face to face.
Ro 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
